Approved by the President
January 28th, 2003
Policy Contact
NA
Category
Informational Technology Policies
This policy has been adopted by the President to support a full suite of administrative software applications in a cost-effective and efficient manner while enhancing security and reliability, by limiting the number of administrative (non-academic) users that have the capability to install software and or modify system files. This policy does not apply to faculty or their staff.
Administrative Computer Configuration Policy
Installation of software on campus-owned administrative computers shall be limited to a 海角论坛 standard configuration and other software necessary for the performance of the employee鈥檚 job. This shall be determined in consultation with the employee and her/his supervisor. Installation and support of all software will be the responsibility of the Administrative Computer Services staff. All computers purchased after the approval of this policy and those being upgraded to the MS2000, XP or later operating systems will be secured with 海角论坛's standard software configuration and any other software deemed necessary for job performance after consultation with the employee and supervisor.
Rationale
Installation of software is the second leading cause of virus propagation second only to email. Viruses pose a serious security threat and unnecessarily burden computer support staff. A policy backed up by appropriate procedures will dramatically improve security and reliability by reducing the number of rogue applications (i.e. games, Kazaa, instant messaging, etc.) being installed by end users.
This policy will set forth the mechanisms by which data stored on campus-owned computing systems and utilized by 海角论坛 employees and students is more secure and better protected.
This policy will promote that:
- 海角论坛 can meet its record-keeping and reporting obligations as required by state and federal law, and local campus policies.
- 海角论坛 can comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA 鈥 the Buckley Amendment), HIPPA, and other statutes and policies protecting the rights of individuals.
- 海角论坛 can consistently maintain data integrity and accuracy.
- 海角论坛 can assure that authorized individuals have timely and reliable access to necessary data and unauthorized individuals are denied access to computing resources.
Standard Configuration (as of January 2003)
Office XP (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, FrontPage, Visio), Explorer (Internet Browser), Outlook (e-mail client), Adobe Acrobat (PDF file reader), WINQVT (terminal emulation), Banner (administrative student database), Antivirus software (currently Sophos), FTP (file transfer application), Plug-ins (view web pages that use multimedia, synch of PDA鈥檚, etc.) This standard configuration may be modified by Computing Services as 海角论坛 needs and software options evolve in the future.
Exceptions
A supervisor may at his or her discretion request that an individual machine be given less restrictive privileges. For example, the use of certain applications may require an end-user to have full unrestricted access. Prior to making this decision supervisors should be aware of the risks, and act in a way to protect the information resources of 海角论坛. Additional software can be requested by a supervisor and will be installed by administrative computing staff to ensure the computer continues to function consistent with established best practices.